Peer Review

American Panorama

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Feb 14, 2021 by Teacher Education

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:

American Panorama is a free digital atlas using GIS for interactive learning which was created by the Digital Scholarship Lab team at the University of Richmond under funding through The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the University of Richmond.

Type of Material:

Collection

Recommended Uses:

As a teaching and learning tool, American Panorama could be used on it's own as a resource to pull up to share during class to explain unlimited topics such as history, geography, politics and more. The maps could be assigned as homework. Students could be assigned a project to mimic making a map. Or lifetime learners will enjoy viewing the maps within their historical context or for comparison purposes.

in-class, lecture, homework, individual, self-paced

Technical Requirements:

The site and maps are browser based.

internet connection and ability to play audio and video

Identify Major Learning Goals:

User will be able to analyze social, political, economic, cultural data presented via digitzed images using over 700 maps from Paullin and Wright's Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States. Their site describes itself as, "American Panorama is an historical atlas of the United States for the twenty-first century. It combines cutting-edge research with innovative interactive mapping techniques, designed to appeal to anyone with an interest in American history or a love of maps."

Target Student Population:

Grade School, Middle School, High School, College General Ed, College Upper Division, Graduate School

Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

No prior knowledge or skills are needed.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: Content is presented in chapter topics and covers early North American geographical representations up through the 20th century. The digitized overlays allow the user to analyze and compare events or changes over time. The visuals offer an alternative approach to learning about a variety of developments during US historical periods. The information is well researched and documented with generally accepted concepts in history depicted in an easy to follow manner.
Concerns:: American Panorama is an ongoing project so the number of maps is limited at this time. They state "In the coming months we'll be adding maps on urban renewal in postwar America, on presidential voting—with more to come after that. And if you like American Panorama . . .check out a great historical atlas from the 20th century that's enhanced for the 21st." The author's recommends that the user can currently find more maps in The Atlas of the Historical Geography of the United States

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:

Strengths:

The learning outcomes for the atlas are inherent in the navigation explanations provided for each map. The learning potential within each map is limitless in terms of how and when to use the content. Assignments could be easily written and incorporated into the curriculum at any time. At minimum, a teacher or student could pull up a map for a visual explanation of a topic.

The layout of table of contents, map overlays, labeling, audio/visual/text guide the user. Topics cover social, political, economic, environmental, educational, industrial, and military topics. Assignments can range from projects to individual assignments to analytical presentations.

Concerns:

This is a very effective teaching tool!

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: This site is very easy to navigate because each map is depicted as a large thumbnail which is titled with the topic of the map. When the user clicks to Enter each map, they are presented with an overview of the topic and how it fits into history.

Next, they will view four brief pieces of information that will help them to read the map and find pertinent information or just explore. For example, The Overland Trails 1840-1860:

1. "map traces the routes of about two dozen migrants over the three trails."

2. "Read a migrant’s diary and follow their journey on the map."

3. "Use the timeline to select a year and see the pace of migration west from Missouri (86°W) to the west coast (123°W)."

4. "Use the flow map to see how the number of people migrating west changed, sometimes enormously, from year to year."

The site is easy to use and includes an introduction on the use of various elements such as overlays. The maps include icons that are easy to decipher for use. For example, when using and overlay there is are plus/minus buttons to zoom in/out as well as a slider to lighten or darken the overlay.

Other Issues and Comments:: There are plans to add more elements and topics.
Creative Commons: